Prometric exam for nurses: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait (2026)

Many nurses call the Gulf licensing test “the Prometric exam”. That name is only half right. Prometric is a company that delivers computer-based tests in test centres. It does not decide who passes or who gets a licence. In each country, a health regulator writes the rules, checks your documents and decides your licence. Some regulators use Prometric. Others use Pearson VUE, another test company.

This guide explains the nursing exam and licence steps in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain, and what we could and could not confirm for Kuwait. For the UAE (DHA, DOH and MOHAP), read our UAE nursing licence guide. We checked every source in October 2026. Fees and rules change, so always check the regulator’s own page before you pay.

The short version

For comparison, the UAE authorities also exempt nurses who have passed the NCLEX. See our NCLEX-RN guide.

How it works everywhere

The order is the same in every country:

1. Apply to the regulator through its online system.
2. Verify your documents. The regulator, or a company it approves, checks your degree, licence and experience letters directly with the people who issued them. This is called primary source verification.
3. Get an eligibility decision. Only then do you book the exam.
4. Pass the exam, if your route needs one.
5. Get licensed through an employer. In practice, a hospital or clinic usually sponsors you and follows up your file.

Do not pay anyone who offers to “book your Prometric” before the regulator has approved you. Never buy “exam questions” either: SCFHS’s applicant guide forbids candidates to reproduce or share exam items.

Saudi Arabia: SCFHS and Mumaris+

The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) licenses nurses. You apply through its online platform, Mumaris+.

Two steps: classification, then registration. SCFHS’s FAQ explains the difference (Mumaris FAQ):

• Professional Classification gives you your professional grade, based on your qualifications and experience. You can apply from outside Saudi Arabia. You do not need a Saudi work permit at this first stage.
• Professional Registration comes after classification. It lets you practise in Saudi Arabia. It needs a lawful residence in the Kingdom, and it is valid for two years.

What classification needs (SCFHS requirements):

• Your qualification certificates, with dates and specialisation.
• A verification report from the company SCFHS approves. The FAQ names this company as Dataflow.
• A valid professional registration certificate from the country where you worked before, with a verification letter.
• At least one year of experience for non-Saudis (graduates of Saudi universities are an exception).
• An employment letter issued in the last three months.

The assessment route. SCFHS decides how to assess you. Its service guide lists four routes and the time each takes (SCFHS service guide):

The FAQ says the oral (practical) exam has 1 to 4 stations and takes 20 to 90 minutes.

The Saudi Nursing Licensure Examination (SNLE). SCFHS’s applicant guide (2024) describes its nursing licence exam (SNLE guide):

• Two parts of 100 multiple-choice questions, 120 minutes each, with a 30-minute break.
• Pass mark: 500 on a scale of 200 to 800.
• Taken at SCFHS-approved Prometric centres, inside and outside Saudi Arabia.
• Up to four attempts a year.

SCFHS says these licensure exams are for graduates after the internship year (SCFHS licensure exams). If you trained and worked abroad, ask SCFHS in Mumaris+ which route your file needs.

Fees. SCFHS’s fee table lists classification and registration fees by grade. These are the totals for nursing grades (checked October 2026) (SCFHS fee table):

Each total is an administration fee of SAR 200 plus classification and registration fees. Exam fees are not in this table. For Nurse Specialist on the exam route, the table shows SAR 1,430, so confirm the amount in Mumaris+.

Qatar: MOPH Department of Healthcare Professions

In Qatar, the Department of Healthcare Professions (DHP) at the Ministry of Public Health licenses nurses. Its Guidelines for Nurses set the rules (DHP guidelines).

Registered General Nurse: what you need

Other rules from the guidelines:

• Online and distance-learning nursing programmes are not accepted.
• If you have less experience than required, DHP decides case by case.
• Verification by the approved verification company replaces attestation of your certificates.
• Documents not in Arabic or English need an official translation.
• DHP aims to review an evaluation request in 15 working days. A preliminary evaluation is valid for 6 months.
• You follow up your request through the employer’s representative.

Oman: the OEN at Pearson VUE

The Oman Medical Specialty Board (OMSB) runs the Omani Examination for Nurses (OEN). It is for nurses who graduated in Oman or abroad. It is also used as an eligibility check for nursing jobs in Oman (OEN booklet).

• Eligibility: a bachelor’s degree in nursing from a recognised college.
• Registration: on the OMSB website, under Professional Competence Affairs, then the Occupational Classification Testing Section.
• Booking: through Pearson VUE, not Prometric.
• Fee: USD 200 (checked October 2026).
• Format: 100 multiple-choice questions, 2 hours 30 minutes, covering seven nursing areas such as adult health, maternal health and child health.
• Where: at OMSB if you live in Oman, or at Pearson VUE centres worldwide.
• Results: emailed within 24 hours.

Bahrain: NHRA and the BNLE

The National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) licenses nurses in Bahrain. You must first submit a complete licence application in NHRA’s online system. When NHRA approves it, you get an eligibility code. You use that code to register for the exam with Prometric (NHRA licensure exams).

NHRA’s Nursing Professionals Qualification Requirements (version 2.2, last updated October 2022) add these rules:

• All nursing applicants must pass the Bahrain Nursing Licensure Examination (BNLE). Only Bahraini or GCC nationals with a valid GCC licence are exempt.
• A pass is valid for 5 years.
• You have four attempts, all within three years of the first.
• A General Nurse needs a bachelor’s degree (4 years) or a diploma or associate degree (3 years).
• Non-Bahraini nurses need 1 year of clinical experience after qualifying and registering, and 6 months of continuous recent work within the last 3 years.
• Non-Bahraini nurses must be no more than 65 years old.

The same document says NHRA accepts the Prometric “Registered Nurse” result from the UAE (DHA and Abu Dhabi), Qatar and Oman, and the Saudi “Nurse Specialist” result, but not the Saudi “Nurse Technician” result. This list is from 2022, and Oman’s exam now runs at Pearson VUE. Ask NHRA whether your result is accepted before you rely on it.

Kuwait: confirm with the Ministry of Health

Kuwait’s Ministry of Health website refused our connection in October 2026, so we could not check its nursing requirements on an official page. We do not state any Kuwait exam, experience or age rule here. If you are offered a nursing job in Kuwait, ask the employer which licence steps apply, and check them with the Ministry of Health.

How to choose and prepare

• Start from the job. Each licence is for one country. Apply for the licence where you have, or want, a job.
• Read the regulator’s own guide for your title. Your grade (for example Nurse Specialist or Nursing Technician in Saudi Arabia) depends on your degree and experience.
• Start verification early. Every regulator needs it, and your file cannot move without it.
• Keep your licence at home active. All these regulators ask for a valid licence or registration from where you last worked.
• Never pay a recruitment fee for a visa. See our guide to ethical recruitment and scams.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Prometric exam the same in every Gulf country?

No. Each regulator sets its own nursing exam, rules and pass mark. Prometric or Pearson VUE only deliver the test. Qatar’s DHP and Bahrain’s NHRA use Prometric, Oman’s OEN runs at Pearson VUE, and Saudi Arabia’s written exam can be at Prometric or Pearson VUE.

Does an NCLEX pass exempt me from the Gulf nursing exams?

In Qatar, yes: DHP exempts nurses who passed the NCLEX in the previous 5 years from the Prometric qualifying exam. In the UAE, an NCLEX pass is also an exemption. We found no NCLEX exemption on the official pages for Saudi Arabia, Oman or Bahrain.

How much experience do I need for a nursing licence in Qatar or Saudi Arabia?

Qatar’s DHP asks for 2 years of clinical experience after registration as a Registered General Nurse, or 3 years with an associate degree. SCFHS in Saudi Arabia asks non-Saudis for at least one year of experience. Qatar reviews applicants with less experience case by case.

Can I apply for Saudi classification from outside Saudi Arabia?

Yes. SCFHS says you can apply for Professional Classification through Mumaris+ from outside the Kingdom, without a Saudi work permit at that first stage. Professional Registration comes after classification. It needs a lawful residence in Saudi Arabia and is valid for two years.

How do I book the Oman nursing exam?

Register on the OMSB website under the Occupational Classification Testing Section, then book through Pearson VUE. The Omani Examination for Nurses costs USD 200, has 100 multiple-choice questions in 2 hours 30 minutes, and results are emailed within 24 hours. You need a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

Related

• DHA, DOH and MOHAP nursing licence in the UAE
• NCLEX-RN guide for international nurses
• OET or IELTS: which test nurses need
• Ethical nurse recruitment and how to spot scams
• Jobs you can apply for from abroad